Rachel Lindsay says she won’t continue to be a part of Bachelor Nation if she doesn’t see the franchise make a concerted effort to cast diverse leads, especially as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to build.
In a conversation with AfterBuzz TV’s “Bachelor A.M.,” the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast co-host – who is the sole black lead in “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette’s” 40 collective seasons – urged for the current moment to be a turning point for the ABC franchise.
“I think that they have to, at this point, have to give us a black ‘Bachelor’ for season 25,” she said. “You have to. I don’t know how you don’t. And it’s been asked of me: will you continue in this franchise if it continues in this way? I can’t. I have to see some type of change. It’s ridiculous. It’s embarrassing. At this point, it’s embarrassing to be affiliated with.”
Rachel stressed the slim odds of headlining the “Bachelor” or “Bachelorette” as a black person, comparing its dearth of non-white leads to the 45 U.S. presidents.
“You’ve casted for 40 seasons, and in 40 seasons, you’ve had one black lead. We’ve had 45 presidents, and in 45 presidents, there’s been one black president. You are almost on par to say you are more likely to become the president of the United States than you are a black lead in this franchise. That’s insane. That’s ridiculous,” she said.
The “Ghosted: Love Gone Missing” co-host also admitted that while she’s been “very outspoken” in her frustration with the show’s need for diversity, she’s “almost been a bit complicit and silent” when it comes to other aspects of Bachelor Nation that “frustrate” her.
“We don’t speak on the things that contestants do that are racist. And it bothers me that certain things have happened that we just say, ‘Oh hush hush,’ and ‘Let’s just move on past it.’ No, we need to acknowledge it, because what you’re doing is perpetuating this type of behavior,” she said.
Rachel cited Hannah Brown’s recent n-word controversy as an example. While many members of the franchise, like Mike Johnson and Tyler Cameron, joined Rachel in holding the former Miss Alabama USA accountable for her behavior, many fans rallied behind Hannah and denied that she’d done anything wrong.
WATCH: Rachel Lindsay Slams Hannah Brown’s Apology For Singing N-Word: ‘You Can’t Give People A Pass’ | Bachelor Brief
“I saw it in full force with the Hannah situation, the way that people attacked me just for holding her accountable,” Rachel said. That is the type of audience that you are breeding, and you’re breeding that type of audience because of the product that you are putting out for this audience.”
“And you’re doing it, because you know that it’s no secret that my season had lower ratings … Even [“Bachelor” creator] Mike Fleiss spoke out about those ratings and what that meant to him, and he said it’s very telling as to who our audience is,” she continued. “But rather than try to change that, they continue to cast to play into that. Because at the end of the day, it’s a business.”
“Well, that’s very frustrating for me,” she went on. “And if we’re going around talking about Black Lives Matter and what’s important and how we need systemic change in so many different ways, whether it be employment, in the police force, in the wealth gap, well then let’s talk about systemic change when it comes to the “Bachelor” franchise. We got to change some things there, too. And I don’t know how you are a part of the ‘Bachelor’ franchise and you’re watching what’s happening in our country right now, and you don’t self-reflect that you’ve been part of the problem as you continue to perpetuate this type of behavior. When you’re putting out something that is very whitewashed and doesn’t have any type of color in it, and you’re not trying to be effective and change that.”
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